“Christianophobia”?

2.09.2005

Christianophobia?

Driving in to work this morning, I saw a bumper sticker which was divided in half. On the left side, the customary “Bush/Cheney,” white letters on blue background; but on the left was the word (name? title?) “GOD,” all caps, red letters on black. And that just about sums it all up, I think.

I read an article at Beliefnet yesterday, the topic of which was the rise of “Christianophobia.” I dislike that term, as “phobia” implies an irrational or groundless fear, and the trepidation with which I and many other non-Christians view the current religio-political climate is anything but. What I see developing these days is a quite aggressive form of Christianity, the faith of conquerors and crusaders toned down only marginally to better fit our more “civilised” times. If the (p)resident felt himself handed a mandate by the most recent election, it would appear that his evangelical constituents feel they too have been given carte blanche by the alleged faith ‘n values majority. Religion is in-your-face like never before in my lifetime, and I’d be frankly surprised by any person of other (or no) faith who didn’t feel a bit defensive and marginalised in the wake of it.

Of course, Christianity does give its faithful the commission to “go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel,” but there used to be fairly clear boundaries to which most folks adhered. Those boundaries seem to have all but disappeared. I never used to see people wearing religious-themed clothing in the workplace, but it’s becoming more and more common. Bumper stickers, from the innocuous to the downright hateful, turn private conviction into public display. Megachurches spend megabucks on billboard advertisements–most recently and offensively the “God’s Plan For Marriage” campaign put forth by a local congregation certain that they had a direct line to the Almighty. God-talk is everywhere, even in places where a few years ago, it simply wasn’t–the secular radio stations, for example, where all of a sudden you have disc jockeys slipping deity references into their patter and signing off with blessings. For a person always disposed to wearing their faith (or lack thereof) close to the vest, it’s unsettling.

Just this past weekend, I was at a formal dinner, a Scottish “Burns Night” celebration. It is customary at these events to give a variety of toasts over the course of the evening, and one of the toasts given is to the United States. This year’s speaker chose, rather than to give a simple toast to our nation, to turn the moment into a literal bully pulpit from which to sermonise on the subject of keeping the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance–which she then instructed the entire scotch-sodden assembly to stand up and recite, like a gaggle of schoolchildren!Annoyed and offended, my husband and I both stood (after fortifying ourselves with shots of the genial beverage), since to not do so would have made us conspicuous; I’d like to believe that we’ve got at least a bit more class than the speaker. The boundaries are indistinct at best, absent at worst; and it’s those of us from the “reality-based community” (heh) who will bear the brunt.

Don’t mind me; I’m just ranting. I haven’t any answers, though I wish I did. My best advice is to keep your eyes open, watch your back, and stay your course. It isn’t going to get any better for a while yet, though I doubt They can pull a full-fledged Theocracy out of their collective ass any time in the immediate future. Fifty-one percent is a squeak of a majority, not a mandate, and the religious bullies would do well to remember that anything pushed hard and often enough will eventually push back. And until someone manages to figure out how to do away utterly with that damned inconvenient “Constitution” thingy, the pushing will result in shoving, and freedom will still ring.

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